Court: State’s attorneys not subject to the FOIA

Tuesday

Dec 24, 2013 at 10:52 AM

According to a release from the office of Livingston County State’s Attorney Seth Uphoff, the Fourth District Appellate Court ruled in Uphoff’s favor in a recent decision.The ruling overturned a lower court’s determination that Uphoff would be required to release detailed information related to the brutal murder of a young woman at a rest area along Interstate 55 in Livingston County twelve years ago.The dispute began in 2010 with the filing of a FOIA request by a man seeking to obtain all the prosecutor’s materials related to the woman’s murder.This request included detailed descriptions of the crime and the condition of the victim, as well as grisly crime scene and autopsy photos.The prosecutor at the time, Tom Brown, denied the request and lawsuits soon followed. The lower court ruled against the State’s Attorney’s office and determined that materials would have to be turned over.However, upon taking office, Uphoff maintained the position that materials would not be turned over. He appealed the case and personally argued the case to the appellate court that he and all other State’s Attorneys in Illinois are not subject to the FOIA. The appellate court ultimately ruled in Uphoff’s favor, determining that prosecutors are exempt from the FOIA and cannot be compelled to turn over such materials.“Every day prosecutors stand on behalf of the victims of crime and the family members they sometimes leave behind,” said Uphoff of the appellate court’s ruling. “And though this young woman’s tragic murder may no longer be at the forefront of the public’s consciousness, she is not forgotten to us. I will continue to stand on behalf of her, her family and others like them to ensure that the personal dignity of victims is protected from those who may seek to invade it.”